The Fallen Vampire

The word 'No' had never fallen out of Tariq's mouth so inhumanely fast before.

Literally nothing sounded more asinine, and not to mention dangerous- than willingly stepping into human territory for a supposed 'meeting'.

He was annoyed with Ja'Zaki and Ayame for even bringing up the information as if it were a plausible course of action for them to take.

"Now I understand what you're thinking, but I need you to hear me out.." Ayame tried to coax him, almost as if she could read the look on his face and knew what she was thinking.

"..."

"Does that mean you're listening?"

"Barely."

"I'll do with that what I can then." She shrugged. "But I am inclined to accept this invitation, and I think you need to come with me."

"Awr?" Yukiko tilted her head.

"I don't know what the fuck she's thinking either, little fluff ball..." Taira muttered as he scratched her chin.

A vein was bulging in Ayame's head that wasn't there a couple of seconds ago.

"Yes, well, you should. Considering that I'm pretty sure you ate what the subject of this meeting is about."

Taira froze just as Yukiko lay on her back for belly rubs.

The air within the room completely shifted with all of the girls showing some form of discomfort. Except Keran and Aveena, who were completely stone faced.

"...I don't know what you're talking abou-"

"Please, spare me." Ayame waived her hand. "I wish that I had've gotten it together sooner, but that's such an obscure part of history that everyone kind of forgets about it.

The first time I cut you apart after you came back... that black blood just stitched you right back together like you weren't a cultivator in the mortal realm. That should have been the biggest sign."

Taira looked up, and met Ayame's single eye with his own red ones.

For reasons only known to herself, she decided to push him a bit further.

"I seem to have struck a nerve... And now I'm wondering how much I really know about you. There are a lot of strange happenings around you.

The fact that you and another supposedly undead vampire race are popping up now, out of the blue after being gone for over 500 years… Maybe you somehow used a weird power to get rid of them.

And come on... Do I even need to point out the very atmosphere of the dwelling we are standing in right now..?

How is something like this even achievable without a power far beyond our world??

I just need to know one thing. Are you also the reason the flesh within the demon kingdom is now missing too?

Did you maybe visit the elves and then the humans as well, and that's why they are sending us these invitations?"

The silence in the room was absolutely deafening.

And though it wasn't noticeable at first, the temperature was slowly dropping.

But out of nowhere, everything came to a halt when Taira suddenly started laughing.

And not a simple, off-handed chuckle kind of thing.

It was a full, head-thrown back and hearty laugh that was the single loudest noise Taira had ever made. Even as an infant he didn't cry this loudly.

He laughed so hard that he fell onto his back and used his tails as a bit of cushion.

Yukiko, who was sprawled across his chest, inquisitively tapped him with her paw.

It was almost as if she were trying to figure out why her old man had suddenly lost his marbles for no apparent reason.

...And why it meant that she wasn't getting those belly rubs she so persistently asked for a second ago.

Taira lifted the small mammal above his head as he continued to voice his amusement.

"Can you believe it, Nibbles? I've been called a conspirator, a mass murderer, a thief, and all in one fell swoop no less. Could you ever even imagine such a thing?"

Yukiko, while smart, is still just an animal. She didn't understand any part of what Taira was saying.

But his facial expressions and body language said that he was amused, so she wagged her tail happily along with him.

"It's been a while since I laughed like that. Maybe too long in fact. It's a shame that it had to come at such a cost, but really, is anything ever really free?"

Ayame's expression showed signs of cracking. "Taira, I just-"

Taira merely held a finger over his lips as he sat up.

"Keran holds you in high regard. Which means that I do as well.

If you wanted to know something, I would have told you without all of the theatrics.

Though I think you may be a bit disappointed by the truth's lack of dramatic flair..."

Taira spilled everything that he had previously kept as a family secret.

What exactly he and Enyo did on the nine days before he tried to leave his old castle ruins, how he stumbled on the blog in the old vault, and he even told them how he was able to drink- and assimilate it without becoming a stain on the wall.

The fallen rulers couldn't stay what they were more surprised by.

The fact that the patron deity of the undead had killed off his most powerful race? Or the fact that the very same deity had made a deal with the former vampire king to fuse their souls together, and use Taira's body as the host?

Either one was enough to constitute a very large therapy bill.

When Taira got done traumatizing his guests, the room was frigid, and Yukiko had already crawled into his gi for warmth.

As the main cause of this event, Ayame felt the worst and her expression clearly showed it.

"...Taira, I didn't mean anything by it, I just-"

"Don't misunderstand, I understand your line of thinking perfectly. I might've reached a similar line of conclusion if I were in your shoes. It's just a shame at the way you went about it." Taira responded without looking at her.

Ayame held up her hands. Her voice was lined with a subtle softness that wasn't at all indicative of her personality.

"Look at me, Taira. We came here with no weapons. No traps planned of any kind. We already believed that you weren't the nefarious sort, but we still just needed to hear the full truth from the horse's mouth."

"Ironic how that does nothing to improve my shit mood."

Taira stood up with Yukiko still riding in his shirt like a baby kangaroo.

He began walking to the door with his hands clasped behind his back and black ice forming underneath his feet.

His voice was no longer amused, or light. Just as endlessly cold as the vastness of outer space.

"You all have a minute to leave my home as swiftly as you barged in."

Now, Ja'Zaki was the one trying his hand at piecing this situation back together. "Don't be like that, Taira, it wasn't a personal attack-"

"If you insist on staying after I've already told you all to leave, ten million years won't be enough to thaw your bodies. Get. Out."